Parents who attempt to stop their teens from interacting on social media are more like than not fighting a losing battle. Social media has become an ingrained part of teenagers’ lives, and rather than attempt to dissuade teens from engaging on social mediums, parents should open up a dialogue with their kids. The United States government explains how to do so in a new report.
Teens should understand what’s acceptable to post and what isn’t and parents can monitor accounts to make sure the rules are being obeyed. A Social Security number is certainly unacceptable, but so are other things like phone numbers, addresses, and various types of personal identification information. Even something as seemingly benign as the name of one’s school can allow a fraud to pose as a student and mislead a teen.
Protection is further afforded when students are cautious with the types of photos and videos they put up. These types of media and other information can be kept private by altering settings so that only authorized persons are allowed to view the profile as a whole. If the teen doesn’t know a person that then sends a friend request, they can simply deny that request.
Finally, stress the importance of password security. Passwords should be changed on a regular basis and involve a combination of letters, numbers, and characters.